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Born May 4, 1928 is the fourth and former President of the Arab Republic of Egypt.

He was appointed Vice President in 1975, and assumed the Presidency on October 14, 1981, following the assassination of President Anwar El Sadat. He is the longest-serving Egyptian ruler since Muhammad. Before he entered politics Mubarak was a career officer in the Egyptian Air Force, serving as its commander from 1972 to 1975. Beginning on January 25, 2011, a popular uprising called for his resignation as president of Egypt.On February 1, 2011, Mubarak announced that he will not seek another term in the upcoming presidential election.

On February 5, 2011 Egyptian state media reported that senior members of the ruling National Democratic Party, including President Hosni Mubarak, had resigned from leadership roles within the party. It was later clarified that Mubarak would stay on as president however.

Military Ref

In November 1967 Mubarak became the Air Force Academy’s commander and two years later he became Chief of Staff for the Egyptian Air Force. As chief of staff of the Egyptian Air Force in 1971, he bluffed his Soviet air force advisers into a humiliating defeat. It was during the 1969-71 War of Attrition that followed Egypt‘s total defeat in the 1967 Six Day War. About 18,000 Soviet military advisers were in Egypt, courtesy of Gamal Abdel Nasser. His military career reached its pinnacle in 1972 when he became Commander of the Air Force and Egyptian Deputy Minister of Defence and the following year he was promoted to air chief marshal in recognition of service during the October War of 1973. Estimates of the wealth of Mubarak and his family range from US$40 billion to $70 billion as per military contracts while Mubarak was an Air Force officer.

Assassination attempts

According to the BBC, Mubarak has survived six assassination attempts. In June 1995 there was an alleged assassination attempt involving noxious gases and Egyptian Islamic Jihad while he was in Ethiopia for a conference of the Organization of African Unity. He was also reportedly injured by a knife-wielding assailant in Port Said in September 1999.

Stance on the invasion of Iraq in 2003

President Mubarak spoke out against the 2003 war on Iraq, arguing that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict should be resolved first. He also claimed that the war would cause “100 Bin Laden s’. However, President Mubarak does not support an immediate US pull out from Iraq as he believes it will lead to probable chaos.

Awards

Mubarak was awarded the Jawaharlal Nehru Award in 1995. Mubarak was honored for his “unique role in providing stability and progress to his country, in upholding the Arab cause, in promoting peace and understanding in the region.